ABOUT

I was born in Pasadena, California, grew up among the surfers, skaters, and Reagan youth of Huntington Beach, and went to college in the land of anteaters (UCI). I then moved north to attend graduate school at the University of Washington (Go Dawgs!) and ended up staying, becoming one of the many web-footed people of magical, soggy Seattle.

I’ve worked in 35 jobs, including fabric cutter, bus parts counter, laboratory assistant, public toilet researcher, communications director, career counselor, academic adviser, and prelaw consultant.Some of my jobs were great and some truly sucked. In the end, I learned something from every single one, even if it was just that I could earn money and take care of myself.

In case you haven’t guessed this yet, I’m curious. I love to try and experience new things, even when they scare me. That’s part of the reason why I love writing–it feeds my curiosity and I get to learn new things all the time.

But despite having written all kinds of things my whole life, I never considered it as a career until I was in my 40s. I was just too dang busy working for The Man. You know that old saying, 20s you learn, 30s you earn? Well, that was me.

Many years later, I published three prelaw books, THE NO B.S. GUIDES, at age 41, and my first novel, THE CONTENDERS, at age 43. Then, at the age of 44, I closed my prelaw consulting business, and became a full-time writer.

When I’m not writing, I read like my life depends on it, walk all over tarnation, grow vegetables as big as my head, meditate, gaze at art, hang out with my family and friends and other interesting people, and travel everywhere (especially islands).